Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, has said that Nigeria should seek to advance economic and military power to advance itself to a position where no country in Africa will be able to defeat if there is a contestation between the two countries.
Prof Akinyemi made this statement on Monday while responding to questions in an interview on ‘Politics Today’ a programme on Channels Television monitored by DAILY POST.
He was reacting to the invasion of Venezuela by the US forces and the subsequent capture of its President Nicolas Maduro.
“This is my advice to Nigeria as well. You have to respect power. And after all, when the Nigeria went into Benin Republic a few weeks back, in terms of power disparity, there is no way Benin could have resisted Nigeria, but there are countries in Africa that Nigeria will not take on.
“And that leads me to a definition of what should be the level of power that Nigeria should seek. Nigeria, in terms of economic and military power, should advance itself to a position where no country in Africa will be able to defeat Nigeria if there is a contestation between the two countries.
“I didn’t say that Nigeria should aspire to a power level where it will defeat any African country. No, I’m saying Nigeria should aspire to a power level where no country in Africa will be able to defeat,” he said.
